Frost proof valve mechanism



P. HAAS. FROST PROOF VALVE MECHANISM.

APPLICATON FILED DEC. 2, i918 Patent-ed May 13-, 1919 moved from the apparatus for adjustment or repair without disturbing otherwise the valve casing, or digging up the portion of the apparatus embedded in the ground.

7 In the accompanying drawing which illustrates an embodiment of my invention, selected by me for purposes of illustration,-

Figure 1' represents a sectional view of a frost-proof valve mechanism for flushing purposes, a portion of the connecting pipe and valve stem between the upper and lower valve casing being broken away, the inlet valve being shown in closed position and the flushing valve being shown in open position, the waste passage being also shown open for draining the portion of the mechanism above the same.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the valve stem raised, the inlet valve open, the waste opening closed, and the secondary or flushing valve closed, in which position, as shown, the inlet water would pass to the usual flushing tank, (not shown).

Fig. 8 is a detail of a portion of the valve stem, and the secondary or flushing valve, carried thereby.

Fig. {1 is a detailed sectional view of the plunger at the lower end of the valve stem and water inlet valve, and waste valve carried thereby.

In the drawing 101 represents the upper valve body or casing, which is provided with a longitudinal vertical passage 102. The said body having at its upper end a clamping member 103, on the outer face of which is provided an annular seat, 104:, to receive a packing member hereinafter described. At its opposite end, the valve body, 101, is provided with a threaded aperture to receive a connecting pipe, 150, at the lower end of which is the lower valvecasing, 151, or inlet valve casing. This inlet valve casing, or body, consists of a cast metal body, provided with a centrally located tubular passage, 152,- and a lateral by-pass, 153, which connects the spaces above and below the passage 152, and the valve body is provided below and in line with the centrally located passage, 152, with an inlet aperture, 154, at the upper end of which is located the inlet valve seat 155., The lower end of the valve casing, 151, is also provided with a threaded portion which is connected to the water main by pipe indicated at 156. This valve casing is alsoprovided with a lateral discharge, 157, or waste opening, connected at its inner end with the centrally located passage 152, and having at its outer end a and its extreme lower portion, as indicated at 162. The lower face of this plunger is provided with a recess in which is located a packing washer, or valve 163, which constitutes the inlet valve and is held in place by the usual screw, 164. The plunger is also provided with a centrally located solid portion of reduced diameter, forming an annular recess above the inlet valve, indicated at 165, in which is located an elastic expansion ring, 170, preferably of rubber, which normally lies below the waste opening, 157, when the inlet valve is closed, but which is raised to a position to close the waste opening, 157, when the inlet valve is opened, as shown in Fig. 2, and acts as a side-closing valve.

The expansion ring is loosely fitted on the reduced portion of the plunger in the recess, 165, when the parts are assembled as the action of water in time tends to cause this ring toswell, and it at all times acts similarly to an expanding piston ring with sufficient accuracy to close the waste outlet, while the loosely fitting plunger prevents it from sticking in the passage 152. The upper end of the plunger is connected to the valve stem, 126, in any desired way. In this instance, it is provided with threaded recesses, into which the lower threaded end of the valve stem is screwed.

The upper valve body, 101, where the device is intended to be used as a flushing valve, is provided internally with an annular flange, 116. Above the flange, 116, the valve body is provided with lateral outlet passage 113, whichin the case of a flushing apparatus, is connected by a pipe, 114,, with the bowl. The valve body is provided below the flange 116, with a lateral aperture, 110, connected by means of a pipe, 111, with the usual closed flushing tank.

The flange, 116, supports a removable and rotatably adjustable sleeve, 117, preferably of brass, and provided with one or more lateral water discharge apertures, 118. This sleeve is provided adjacent to each end, with a flange (119 and 120) and at the lower end the sleeve is provided with a valve seat, 121, and an annular recess, in-which is located a gasket, .122, which engages the annular flange, 116, for the purpose of forming a tight joint. The outer, or upper, end of the sleeve is substantially flush with the annular seat, 104, of the valve body 101, and the rubber diaphragm, 123, having a, central aperture for the passage of the valve stem, is placed in engagement with the end of the sleeve, and said annular seat, 101. This diaphragm is held in position by a clamping member, 125, provided with belt holes, corresponding with bolt receiving recesses in the clamping member 103, of the valve body, and is connected to the valve body by means of bolts and nuts, or screws, thereby forcing seesaw it against the diaphragm and against the end of the sleeve, 117, and firmly clamping both diaphragm and sleeve in position and holding the sleeveagainst rotationi Aswill be readily understood; thesleeve,

117, can beturned and 'adjustedbefore the? clamping bolts aretightened'so as to bringw one of the lateral ivatrj apertureshiore or less into registration w1th the discharge passage, 113, of the upper valve casingsothat the water passi Said1 casinghandw sleeve will be more or less throttledeecord ing to the position in which thesleeve is before stated, to the plunger 160, for operating the waterinlet valve and waste valve and being connected to the upper section 126? by the threaded portion 126", as indicated in Fig. 3. The upper section, 126,oftl1e valve stem, is provided with a'yokeportion, 127, t which has a guiding engagement'with the guiding projections, 128, on the interior of the sleeve, 117. Above the yoke the'valve stem is provided with an annular groove, or recess, 127, in which the inner edge of the diaphragm is retained. Above this grooved portion, the stem extends through a conical extension, 184, on the clamping member, 125, within which conical extension a recess, 135,

is formed to receive a spring, 136, which bears upon a shouldered portion of the stein,

thereby depressing the stern andholding it in its lower nostposition, and maintaining the inlet valve, 103, in closed waste valve in open-position.

VVherethe apparatus is used as a flushing device, the valve stein s prov1dedw1tlran auxiliary valve, or flushing valve, which operatesin conjunction with the valve seat,

116, at thelower end of the sleeve, 117 to close the, communication between the tank and the outlet passage 113. For convenience in attaching this valve to theyvalvestem, I prefer to employ an, internally"threaded sleeve, 130, provided with a'flange at its lower end, upon which is placed a hemispherical valve,.129, of rubber or other suit able material, the valve siipporting sleeve being threaded upon the upper end of the lower section 126, ofthe valve stem below theyoke portion, 127, of theupper section,

as clearly shown in the drawing;

This auxiliary. valve,'130,jis also held normally open position bythe 'spring,"136Q The valve stem can befraised against the pressure of the spring in aiiyfdesired way' In the present instance, Thaveshown acap,

1441, secured at the upper end to the valve positionand the stem by suitable nuts, on a threaded portion of the-stein, the said cap,14 1,heing provided with flange wportions (indicated in dotted lines) which are engaged by, the forked end of a lever, 1 12. In the case of a hydrant, this levercanbe operated by handand it can also be operated in the same manner when the device is usedas a flushing apparatus,butI

prefer to connect the operating portion of the lever, 142, to the seat, in a well known way, the pivot of the lever becoming the pivot of the seat, so that when thewse'atis de pressed, the forked portion *of the lever acts upon the cap 144 and raises the stem: The normal positions of thepartsis illustrated in Fig.1, in which the inletva1i e'163is closed andithe auxiliary valve 129 is open, the valve stem being in its lowest position. hen the seat is depressed or the lever 142isotherwise operated, to raise the valvestern, theinlet valve" will be opened, the auxiliary valve closed and theexpansionring, orwaste valve will be made to close the waste outlet, 157, as

clearly. shown in Fig.2. The water now enters from pipe 156 and passes through the by-pass 153 and the connecting pipe 150 around andout of contact with the portion of the plunger and theexpansion ring valve 17 O'thereon lying'within the passage152' to through pipe 111 to the closed flushing tank the upper valve casing, passing thence and compressingthe air therein until the air pressurebalances theinitial pressure of the water in the supply pipe1561 Itwill be noted that the expansion ring valve 17 0 lies within thetubular passage 152 andlbetween the inner face thereof and the solid central portion of the piston or plunger, and is very little" exposed to the water passing through the valve), It will therefore remain in per fect operative condition much longer than it Y would were it continually exposedto large volumes of water. hen the seat is released or thelever142isotherwise released, the

spring 136 depresses the valve stein thereby seating the inlet fvalve 163 and shutting olf communication w1th the water main while the auxiliary valve 129 is opened. The

pressure of the compressed air ou the water inthe tank in a well known Way forces the water from the tank 1 into; the upper valve casingand out throughthedischarge pas sage 113 (seeFig. 1,)tothebowl, if the device is used as a flushing apparatus;

As soon as the air pressure in the tank has expelled the water therefrom, during which period a slight amount of water will be dis charged, through the waste opening, without, however,alfecting-inate'rlally the discharge through the passage 113, which is of much greater diameter, the water remaining'in the upper alve casing and in the connecting l pipe 150, will be drained through the waste passage 137, now'uncovered bythe descent of the plunger 160, thus freeing the exposed portions of the apparatus from contained water and precluding thepossibility of the apparatus being put out of operation by freezing.

When thedevice is intended for use as a hydrant, the pipe 111 will naturally be omitted, as well as theauxiliary valve 129 and the aperture for the pipe 111 can be closed by a plug, or the valve casing, which is of cast metal, can be made without such 7 opening. It willbe noted that in this apparatus only a few parts of the device need be made of brass or other non-rusting metal. Forexample, such parts as the ,lowervalve casing, the plunger, the supporting sleeve for the auxiliary valve, the adjustable sleeve 117 and the upper section of the valve stem will ordinarily be made of brass, while the rest of the apparatus may be made of cast iron, or other cheaper metal, together with the spring 136, whioh,-by reason of its location, exterior to the diaphragm, is prevented from rusting.

WVhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a frost roof valve mechanism, the

combination wit a valve casing, provided with a water inlet, a tubular passage above the water inlet, a lateral waste passage communicating therewitlnand a by pass extending from the water inlet laterally of and around the tubular passage, to a point above said passage, of a reciprocating plunger in said passage provided at its lower end with a valve for closing the water inlet, said plunger loosely fitting said tubular passage and having a solid portion of reduced diameter within said passage,and an expansion ring of elastic material surrounding said solidreduced portion of the plunger and acting asa piston ring, said expansion ring being normally out of registration w1th the lateral waste passage, but located in pos1t1on to I close said passage when the inlet valve is in open position, whereby said expansion ring is protected from the water passing through the valve'by its location within said tubular passage and between the walls of said passage andthe solid reduced portion of the plunger.

2; In a frost-proof valve mechanism the combination with a lower valve casing, adapted to be located belowthe frost line and provided with a water inlet, a guiding passage abovethe same, a waste passage with a lateral water opening for throttling the water outlet, a pipe connecting said casings, a valve stem extending through said casing and connecting pipe, and operatively connected with said plunger, interengaging parts on said valve stem and sleeve connecting them for joint rotation without interfering with the longitudinal movement of the valve stem through said sleeve, a spring operatively connected with'said valve stem for holding the inlet valve normally closed and means for moving said valve stem against said spring.

3. In a frost-proof valve mechanism the combination with a lower valve casing, located below the frost line and provided with a water inlet, a guiding passage above the same, a waste passage connected therewith, and a by-pass extending around said passage, a plunger in said guiding passage provided with an inlet-valve, and an annular expansion ring for closing the said waste passage, when the inlet valve is in open position, of an upper casing provided with a vertical passage, and a water outlet connected therewith, a rotatably adjustable sleeve in said upper casing provided with a lateral opening for throttling the water outlet and having a valve seat at its lower end, a connecting pipe connecting said upper and lower casings, a valve stem extending through said casings and connecting pipe, and connected at its lower end to said plunger, interengaging parts on said valve stem and sleeve connecting them for joint rotation, without interfering with the longitudinal movement of the valve stem through said sleeve, an auxiliary valve carried by said stem within said upper casing, in position to engage the seat 011 said sleeve when the plunger is raised, said upper casing being provided with a tank outlet on the opposite side of said VttlX'B seat from the water outlet, a spring engaging said stem and normally holding the inlet valve closed and an auxiliary valve open and means for moving the valve stem against the pressure of said spring to close the auxiliary valve and open the inlet valve.

4:- In a valve mechanism, the combination with a valve bod having an opening at one end provided wit inlet and outlet apertures, an inlet valve controlling the inlet opening, a valve stem connected with said inlet valve and extending through the end opening of the body, a rotatably adjustable sleeve mounted in said valve body, surrounding the valve stem and provided with a lateral discharge aperture adjacent to the outlet aperture of the body, said sleeve having its outer end' substantially flush with the end opening of the valve body,-a diaphragm closing the end opening of the valve body, engaging the end of said sleeve, and having a central aperture for the passage of said valve stem, said stem having a Shoulder to engage said diaphragm, a clamping member for clamping the marginal portions of the diaphragm to the valve body and the end of said sleeve, and holding said sleeve in adjusted position, means for securing the clamping member to said main body, said clamping member having a spring containing recess exterior to said diaphragm, a

10 spring in said recess engaging the valve stem, and inter-engaging partson said valve stem and sleeve for efiecting the simultaneous rotation thereof, Without interfering With the longitudinal movement of the valve stem through the sleeve, whereby by loosening said clamping member said sleeve may be rotatably adjusted, by turning the valve stem, Without disassembling the parts.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

PHILIP HAAS.

Copies of this Patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0." 

